Life's a Beach
by Berry's Ambitions
Summary: [Post-movie one-shot] Co-written with stretch the faunlet. Rocket and Groot enjoy some downtime while the team is on vacation. [Groot/Rocket]


**Life's a Beach**

**By Berry's Ambitions and stretch the faunlet**

**author's note:** So Elena and I both watched this movie in a span of a week and fell in love with it. Or, more specifically, we fell in love with Grocket and the characters of Rocket and Groot themselves. This isn't anything serious at all; just a cute piece of post-movie fluff. Not sure _how_ long after the movie, but let's assume enough time has passed for Groot to have gone back to his old self. Anyway, enjoy!

**disclaimer:** We do not own _Guardians of the Galaxy_.

* * *

"Ugh… I don't know how I managed to let you convince me into comin' here in the first place," Rocket grumbled. The sand kept getting caught between his toes, and he was fairly sure his fur had already gotten covered in the stuff during the twenty minutes he and Groot had spent there. The rest of their team was exploring the aquatic planet they were currently vacationing on, leaving the gun-toting raccoon and tree-like humanoid to their own devices. Rocket found their current location to be uncomfortably hot and sticky, but Groot loved it. He would have stood out in the sun for hours, if Rocket hadn't started to worry he might eventually catch fire if he didn't intervene.

Thus, they had come up with a compromise.

"I am Groot," his companion replied, giving an unbothered little shrug. His gaze was fixated on the large body of water up ahead, and he was beaming with excitement. In order to keep himself cool and Groot entertained, Rocket had promised to teach him how to swim. He certainly hoped he wouldn't regret it, though it was pretty difficult to back out when Groot kept giving him those damn puppy dog eyes.

Rocket was quite sure he wouldn't have to completely worry about Groot possibly drowning. At least, he hoped not. He wasn't a paranoid creature in the slightest, but that big body of water was sure... well... _big. _What with it being an ocean and all... but Groot was a tree. Which if Rocket remembered correctly was technically a plant. Plants needed sunlight and water.

_Or am I remembering that wrong?_

Nevertheless, Rocket knew there was no backing out of this now. He didn't want to. He could swim, though he hadn't done it in a while, and he was sure teaching Groot how to swim was going to take a while. All he knew was that he wanted to get in the water and away from the sand as much as possible. Nothing was more uncomfortable than having sand stuck in your fur—it was the equivalent of having sand in your pants.

By the time they reached the water, Rocket gave his fur a little shake, sneezing and wrinkling his nose afterwards. "I'm gonna need a shower after this, ya know that?" he complained, shooting Groot a sour look. His companion looked perplexed.

"I am Groot?"

"Yeah, I know, but this is different. This is salt water, so it ain't the same as takin' a bath." Tentatively, Rocket dipped his toes in the water, and was relieved to discover it was lukewarm. He could handle that. It was freezing cold that bothered him. "You need soap for that, I already told you before."

Groot nodded in understanding, watching with great curiosity. While Rocket did get frustrated with him more often than not, he had to admit, Groot learned fast and he was definitely competent. It was one of the reasons the two of them had formed their partnership in the first place, though Rocket had to admit that he hadn't expected it turn into, well… a_ different_ kind of partnership.

Well, love always had odd ways of working. In ways even Rocket didn't even understand.

Yeah, he could admit to that. He loved Groot. More than anything. It exceeded what a normal friendship felt like, though Rocket would never know, Groot being his first real friend and all. His first real friend that actually stuck around. It was no wonder Rocket fell for him, though there were probably a million and more reasons why Rocket loved Groot.

Rocket wasted no time, starting to make his way deeper into the water. When the warm sea water met his waist, he glanced over his shoulder to see Groot edging closer towards the water. "It won't bite!" Rocket called out with a small grin. "C'mon, the water's fine!"

Groot looked hesitant for a moment, sticking one large foot in the water. Recognizing that the temperature wasn't bad and taking Rocket's word for it, he smiled, wading in deeper, until the water reached his ankles. Rocket beamed up at him encouraging, wading over and taking his partner's much larger hand within his own.

"See? This ain't so bad at all! You're doing great so far, buddy!"

Had it been anyone else but Groot, they would have been shocked by Rocket's optimism and light-hearted attitude. Rocket supposed it was just something Groot brought out in him, especially after… the incident. It wasn't one Rocket liked thinking about—or any of them, for that matter—but it had taught him what was most important to him, and to hold it close to his heart.

_Jeez, that was sappy. I'm glad no one else heard that. _How damaging would_ that_ be for his reputation?

"I am Groot!" Groot exclaimed with a grin.

Rocket smiled back, gently pulling Groot along further. "See? I told ya so!"

There was a gentle wave and a small breeze, but other than that the day was nice and warm, just like the water. With not many waves, Rocket felt even better about his friend going swimming with him. They definitely picked a good day to come to the beach, and Rocket definitely picked a good day to teach his tree friend how to swim.

"See the tricky part comes when the water reaches your neck," Rocket explained. Being shorter than Groot, the water already reached his neck, so he swam around with ease. Groot watched him seemingly in awe. "That's when you gotta kick your feet and move your arms to stay up and floatin'. That don't sound too hard!"

"I am Groot," Groot agreed with a nod.

Since Groot understood what Rocket had just explained to him, the two ventured further into the ocean. Since the waves were fairly mild that day, Rocket had no difficulty keeping the head above his water as he doggy-paddled, glancing at his shoulder over to make sure Groot was keeping up. Sure enough, he was, smiling happily and splashing about—quite literally. Rocket laughed, covering his eyes and splashing him right back.

"Hey, easy! You don't want to burn our eyes!" he joked. "You can't swim if you're blind!"

"I am Groot!" his friend retorted, rolling over so he was floating on his back.

Rocket waded over to him, impressed at the swiftness at which Groot had picked up on it, before doing the same thing. He sighed, folding his hands behind his head and looking over at Groot, smiling. "This is the life, ain't it?"

"I am Groot," Groot agreed, closing his eyes as the waves rocked them gently.

"Yeah..." Rocket sighed, shutting his eyes as well. "I forgot how fast of learner you can be..."

"I am Groot."

"Yeah, yeah... don't need to rub it in. I just haven't gotten a good swim in a while, so I wasn't sure how easy teachin' you to swim would be."

"I am Groot?"

"Like a year ago," Rocket answered. "Or was it two...? Well, either way, swimming is nice. Especially when the water ain't freezin' cold."

He hadn't had good experiences with the cold in the past, though Rocket didn't like to let his thoughts wander in that direction. Besides, Groot helped keep them away. Every time they were together, which was about ninety-nine percent of always, all of the Rocket's negativity and uneasy thoughts slowly ebbed away. His temper was still short, but he had plenty of reasons to be happy now—Groot being the most obvious.

"I am Groot," the tree reflected, sighing appreciatively. He too enjoyed the temperature of the water, along with the warm sun as it beat down upon them. It wasn't often they got to just lie back and enjoy life, and it was a welcome change. Rocket was so used to springing into action that he'd almost forgotten what it was like to kick back and relax. For a long time, he hadn't been able to. Hadn't been _wired _to.

_I proved 'em wrong, though… I proved 'em all wrong._

And he was sure he wouldn't have been able to do that without Groot.

"I could stay here all day," Rocket sighed, letting the warm water soak his fur. It felt _amazing, _but nothing could really top the sensation when one of Groot's vines...

He blushed at the dirty thought that entered his mind. He really couldn't help but compare such a great feeling with an even better one. He liked to feel good, and Groot always made him feel good.

"I am Groot." Groot was agreeing with Rocket's statement from a few seconds earlier. Yes, they both really _could_ stay in there all day.

So they did. The waves became more rugged the later the day went, and the two swam and played and splashed and, over all, had fun. And Rocket hadn't had any real fun—fun that didn't involve crime—in a long, long time. The fact it was just the two of them made it even better.

But eventually the water grew chilly when night drew closer, so Rocket decided to finally call it quits. "It's gettin' cold now... ready to get out?"

"I am Groot," Groot said with a nod.

"If we don't get out soon, we'll probably shrivel up and won't have nothin' to take back to the ship," Rocket remarked, paddling alongside him. "Either that, or somethin' big and ugly will try to eat us." That made him smirk. He would have liked to see something _try _taking a bite out of Groot and surviving.

"I am Groot…" While Rocket liked to make jokes about that sort of thing, Groot preferred to stay on the side of caution. He swam closer to Rocket, trying to keep him safe as they made their way back to shore. Everyone who knew Rocket knew he was _more _than capable of defending himself, but the raccoon appreciated the gesture nonetheless. Only Groot was able to get like that without receiving an earful as a result—because he was just showing he cared. Incompetence had nothing to do with it—

_"Ow! What the **fuck**?!"_

The minute Rocket's foot touched the ground, it exploded with pain. He cursed loudly, stumbling backward and into Groot's arms, gritting his teeth together and examining the damage. What he saw almost made him recoil in disgust.

A sea urchin. He'd stepped on a fucking_ sea urchin!_

"I didn't even know these existed here!" he screamed, but it was more out of pain than actual anger. "Son of a _bitch..."_

He wasn't aware until now that Groot had scooped him up and carried him back to shore, sitting down in the sand with Rocket on his lap, nursing his aching foot. "I am Groot?" the tree man asked, sounding worried.

"Nah, it ain't nothin' serious," Rocket assured him, but he kept his teeth gritted in pain. It hurt like a bitch, but he was sure it was nothing serious. At least he hoped it wasn't. "It just hurts."

Groot gazed at him sympathetically, taking Rocket's foot gingerly and examining it. Sure enough, the urchin wasn't attached to his foot; it was just the spines. He could fix that. "I am Groot," he warned, not wanting to startle him. There was a fair chance this would hurt, and Rocket did not cope with physical pain well at all.

Rocket watched as Groot lowered himself onto his knees, trying to cover up his nervousness with an expression of nonchalance. It failed, and he gave a sigh. "Okay, fine… but make it quick…"

Groot nodded, turning his attention to Rocket's injury and getting to work. Rocket held his breath, flinching every so often as Groot started to scrape out the spines. He was as gentle as he could be, but every so often it would sting, and Rocket would jump or spew out a new curse word—or both. Groot remained patient all the while, using his free hand to scratch his friend between the ears as he continued removing the spines, one by one.

Rocket took a deep, rather shaky breath, feeling a bit more relaxed now that Groot was scratching him behind his ears—and only Groot could get away with doing that. Besides, only Groot knew where exactly to scratch him.

And it helped. The sensation of being scratched behind the ears made the pain subside. "You sure know how to make a guy feel good..."

"I am Groot," Groot replied, removing the last remaining spike carefully. Rocket flinched a bit, but the pain wasn't nearly as bad as it was before. Still, his foot was throbbing, and he was sure he wouldn't be able to walk on it for a while.

"It should be me thankin' _you!"_ Rocket exclaimed. "The shit hurt like a motherfucker, so... thank you." He didn't say it often, but only for Groot would he show his gratitude.

Groot smiled at him happily, the expression lighting up his entire face. Rocket gave a little yelp of surprise as he was scooped up into Groot's arms, the tree-man starting to trek back to the location where their ship was currently parked.

"Oh, c'mon, Groot!" Rocket protested, squirming. This was humiliating! "Knock it off! I can't let everyone else see me like this!"

"I am _Groot," _his partner answered stubbornly, clutching Rocket even tighter against him. The raccoon winced, then scowled. He had a feeling that struggling would be futile, and that annoyed him.

"It's just my foot, Groot… ain't like it's broken anyway, it's just a couple of scrapes…"

"I am Groot."

"Cause it hurt, that's why!" Rocket retorted.

"I am Groot?"

"Well, a little, but—"

Groot tightened his hold on him then, just slightly, but not enough to hurt him. "I am Groot."

Rocket heaved a sigh, slumping in Groot's arms. He knew arguing with Groot was useless when he was so adamant on taking care of him. "Alright _fine..._ but make sure to do it _after _everyone else is asleep, okay?"

Groot beamed then, giving a nod. "I am Groot!" He placed a kiss on Rocket's head, and his ears flattened slightly, a blush forming under his fur.

"Yeah, yeah," Rocket muttered, trying to keep a straight face and hope his blush wasn't too noticeable. "I love ya too."

**/end/**


End file.
